*creeps in quietly to see if she recognises anyone and then apologises for an 18 month absence*Just wanted to pop in to say hello, and wish you all fabulous times when you go to the twi-marathon/breaking dawn 2 showings. I hope you're all well?

Wow, I can tell it’s premiere time...it’s busier here! Yay! Maybe we can convince some of our long lost sisters to move back home! I hope you all love BD2!! Can’t wait to talk about it with you all!

Susie, yes, the bike riding is definitely good, especially since I haven’t been able to do my workout for a couple of weeks due to this cough. It gets worse with a big change in temperature (like going outside and coming back in) or with physical exertion. I’m hoping to get back to it on Monday.Have SO much fun with your friends on opening night!!!

Jaclyn, Have a great time! I realized just halfway through part 2 that my backside was SO achy...if I had gone to the big marathon with all the movies, I would have been DYING!!!But I’m so excited for all of you to see the movie so we can talk about it! Have fun!!!I don’t think you need to worry about us not being here now that the movies are done...we’re not here just because of the movies..sure, we all came here initially because we love Twilight, but that’s not why we stayed. I don’t think we’re going anywhere.

Ann Marie, I am SO sorry you didn’t get to see any of the stars...why didn’t they let you to the front if you had the armband? Or did they give out too many bands? At least you got to see the movie.

Sarah, wow...my brother did CLEP to get his language requirement out of the way. He was an English major and his degree required a foreign language class or 2, so he did CLEP so he wouldn’t need to take those courses. I was too scared to try to do that. GO YOU!You know, I’ve always loved my fruits and vegetables, but I am a total carnivore...I still love veggies and stuff, but I HAVE to have meat. So what do you eat then? Do you eat substitutes to get your protein?

Sean, I understand what you mean about bullies...I was bullied in school. It’s so hard to be “different”. I wasn’t the pretty girl, I wasn’t rich (almost everyone in my home town works for the coal mines and the mines pay really well, but my parents were divorced and neither worked for the mine..my dad worked AT the mine, but he worked for a security company that contracted out to the mines, and the security company did NOT pay well), I wasn’t athletic...and I got good grades and was involved in acedemic activities like student council, honor society, speech and debate, international club, drama and music. It made me a target. Now I’m a huge supporter of the underdog...I like to see the underdog come out on top. So I can understand that about you...I just think you see the attacks on Kristen and Rob as almost like they are attacking you...I’m not sure how to explain it, but I guess like...it takes you back to the days of being bullied, reminds you of that and immediately puts you on the defensive as though YOU are the one being attacked. Does that make sense? But the thing is, I think most people are actually good people. And the ones who are not seem to be the loudest...like...you know how in high school, it might have only been one or 2 people doing most of the bullying, but it FEELS like everyone because it happens all the time. The squeaky wheel makes the most noise. The people like the one who the police caught...she’s an extreme case...one out of THOUSANDS who wanted to go to the premiere...and yet SHE’S the one that got the attention because she was making the most noise. But the rest of the people around her were legitimately there because they are fans...maybe they don’t like Kristen, but they weren’t there to yell at her or be rude...MOST people are capable of being civil, behaving themselves, and acting with dignity and integrity. But it’s those extreme people who you see on the news, because they are the ones making the noise. You can’t protect K&R from every bit of negativity...and for every rude, mean, and ugly person out there who would harm or belittle them, there are probably hundreds who are loving and respectful, and thousands who are just indifferent. Same thing with the world as a whole...for every Muslim extremist wanting to kill all Americans, there are hundreds or thousands who are peaceful, wonderful people (I know a LOT of Muslims and not ONE of them is aggressive or violent or believes that the Taliban/Al Qaida is good), but it’s the extremists who make themselves known. Don't let those nutjobs destroy your faith in humanity.

Lynne, I am going to go read your review in a little bit. I’m curious to see which parts bothered you.

Hi Tonise!! I’m sorry you’ve been sick! I hope you feel ok for the movie and then work the next day. While you are hanging around here, can you update the sibling list? Grayce mentioned that she hasn’t been added, and I don’t think Corona/Austin or Twilightfan87/Sarah are on there yet, though they have been posting as regularly as siblings. (Well, I’m sure Austin will come back when things slow down for him...he checked in the other day)

Tracy, Sorry you have to work Friday...I think that was the hardest thing for me about attending the midnight show on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning...I didn’t get home until 2:30 a.m. and then had to get up at 7 to get the kids up and ready for school (I use the plural “kids” even though Mr. Man woke up at 5:50 already) and then get them TO school. I came back and napped for a couple of hours after that, but was SO tired for the whole day. Too bad I can’t go back to the college days when I could stay up until 3 on the computer and still make an 8:00 class. How did I DO that?You know, I never really paid that much attention to the soundtracks, but I was watching the UK premiere last night and I could totally place all the music that was playing...I knew which scenes from which movies they came from, so I can only assume my subconscious was paying attention.

Skatepixie/Rose, if you need help remembering names, there’s a list on the first page of the thread with all of our usernames and the real name that corresponds. I used it a LOT in my first couple of months on here. Usually you can kind of cheat and look back at other people’s posts to figure out someone’s name, but occassionally, if no one has posted since that person, it’s handy to be able to just flip back to that list. But no one will be offended if you forget a name...there are a LOT of us...it’s a lot to remember. Once you’ve been here and posting for a while, we’ll add you to the sibling list.It sounds like you were near the front at the LA premiere! How amazing was that! Did you get Booboo’s autograph then?Who in the WORLD would throw away those autographs?? That is insane!!

Hi, Mel. (ok, I don’t know you, so I totally cheated and looked at the sibling list.) This is so neat getting to meet some sisters that haven’t been on in a long time.

Hi Grayce and Paula, and anyone else I missed.

Report cards come out tomorrow and then we have parent teacher conferences on Monday...can't wait to find out how the kids are doing! Especially with Bug's reading...she came home last week and said she got to read for the group 5 (3rd grade) teacher and I asked her how it went and she said "good" and that's all I got out of her. I asked her if all the kids in her class had to do that (I thought maybe pre-testing) and she said no, just her. But she didn't know why she was reading for her. But then she also said she sometimes has to go out to the hallway to read because the rest of her class is doing the beginning stuff, sounding out words, but she doesn't like reading in the hallway because she can still hear them through the door and it distracts her, or sometimes kids from the other classes come out and ask her why she's sitting in the hallway reading. I guess the other kid that the teachers thought might be ready for the "sun" book wasn't, so Bug is the only one. I'm anxious to ask her teachers what the thing was with the 3rd grade teacher. They have a special reading teacher that does all the testing, so I don't think that's what this was, and they already tested her at the beginning of the year for her level...so I don't know if it's a good sign or a bad one that she was reading for this other teacher. I went to ask her teacher after school that day, but the teacher wasn't in the classroom, so I've been waiting not-so-patiently for this conference to ask. And Mr. Man is the youngest in his class (group 2, kindergarten year 2)...he turned 4 last december, and December is the cutoff for being allowed to move on to group 2, so he was allowed to, but sometimes kids that young struggle with it and end up being held back later...so I want to find out how he's handling it. His teacher DID tell me a few weeks ago that he has problems holding his pencil, and if it didn't improve, we might need to get him physical therapy for it, but nothing has been said about his mental development, so I am assuming no news is good news...I'm sure we'd hear it if there was a problem. But parent teacher conferences are always fun.

Okay, so here is my detailed and full review of BD2. Finally. Needless to say it contains spoilers. And I’m going to go off of what you all have said a little and then add a few of my own comments. Overall, I really loved the movie. I don’t think it will be my favourite, but it’s definitely near the top of my list.

Rushed start: I definitely agree with you all on that. I didn’t like it at all. It was like they were saying: “Bella is a vampire now. So what. Big deal. Moving on…” Bella wasn’t disorientated or confused. She wasn’t ever having mood swings that she then tried to control. The Cullens just handed Renesmee to her without Edward having told them about the humans on the first hunt. Especially the big smile on Rosalie’s face was wrong to me. Only Jacob seemed concerned. And then they left her alone with Charlie!? Her first contact with a human and they leave her alone! She even hugs Charlie like it is no big deal! Kristen’s acting was great though! And I saw that she was trying to work in everything that wasn’t in the script. And I loved seeing her hunt. I wish we could have seen Edward hunt as well.I get it, they had a lot of ground to cover with the confrontation and the new vampires, but still. They could have made three more movies out of this! I’m hoping we’ll get a lot of deleted scenes from the first half on the DVD.

Renesmee: I also thought everything around Renesmee growing up was rushed. Ironic really, because she is supposed to grow up fast. Although we get that wonderful addition at the piano, I still would have liked to see more of Renesmee. Even though I did notice the CGI at some points, I thought it was done really well considering the complexity and the amount (Remember we also have the wolves, the battle, the hunt etc. I think it’s hard to find scenes where there isn’t CGI…)

Jacob: I have to say that I really enjoyed Taylor’s scenes in this movie. When Bella finds out he imprinted on Renesmee… Priceless! Kristen grabbing him by the neck and shoving him outside… That was just perfect! I laughed so hard. Kristen’s acting in this scene is also phenomenal! And then of course the scene where Jacob tells Charlie he’s a werewolf. Just one thing: Billy Burke! That’s all I have to say about that. Perfect and funny!

Jasper: Another character that I thought was just not present enough was Jasper. He plays a much bigger role in all the books, but somehow always ends up with the short straw in the movies. It probably ties in with rushing Bella’s newborn changes, but he had like what… 2 lines in the entire movie?

Cottage: I liked the cottage scene. I expected it to be a bit more “wild”, if you know what I mean. A bit more animalistic, maybe with some CGI speed thrown in there, rolling across the bed or the ground, pushing each other against the walls. A bit Mr.&Mrs. Smith. But still it was good. It was sensual, it was sweet. Couldn’t help though but think of Rob and Kristen’s interviews saying how awkward it was to make those close-ups. LOL The little conversation in front of the fireplace…phew… sexy! *insert fanning smilie* But in the end this scene just didn’t stand a chance against Isle Esme.

Jenks: I liked how they solved the J Jenks scene. I thought that was really clever. Although again it was made to look like Bella had no problem at all being around that much humans. No questions asked. And of course she is fine, but for me in the books this is the first real proof that she can interact normally with humans. They could have put more emphasize on that.

New vampires: As you guys said, this went really fast. It’s a shame that we couldn’t get more background on them, but I actually quite like how they did this. There was a lot of diversity. We got to see Alaska. (Funny little side note: The subtitles in Dutch for BD1 at the wedding said that the Denali coven was from Canada… Another reason why I hate translations. The people making them have no knowledge or respect for the source material.) We got to see Benjamin’s gifts and Garret enjoying his nomadic existence. Those are my two favourite new vamps! I loved the Romanian’s little chase with the wolves. (The whole theatre went “awww!” when the little wolf transformed, haha.) And I didn’t expect it, but I quite liked Alistair in an odd way… As Brienna said, it would have been boring to see them all just arriving and repeating the explanation a dozen times.

marielle wrote:The Amazon´s were as I expected but they only ever showed 2 of them where as I remember there were 3 in the book.

Didn’t the third Amazon vampire stay with Alice until they found Nahuel? She just didn’t show up when Alice arrived during the confrontation in the movie. I don’t really mind that change.

Songbird wrote:Have any of you ever wondered why Kate's talent doesn't work on Bella?

I always thought it was because Bella shields her brain, meaning her central nervous system. Electrical currents are carried through the nerves. The electrical shocks from Kate are supposed to work like Jane’s in that sense: They sent signals to the brain. At least that’s how I read it. But I agree it’s confusing. Anyone remember the explanation from the book?

Songbird wrote:I liked that we got to see Vasilli and Sasha, but it bugged me a bit that Jane was there and also so prominent because according to the OIG, the immortal children ban was the reason why Aro didn't change Jane and Alex sooner...he couldn't break his own rule. So the immortal children came BEFORE Jane was created.

I always thought that Sasha made the immortal child after the law was already there. She what the consequences were. So Jane and Alec could have been there…

Songbird wrote:I didn't really get the part with Toshimo or whatever his name was...that didn't make much sense to me and wasn't necessary. They could have used that time to do a few of the existing scenes a bit better.

Completely agree on that one. I didn’t understand why that was there at all. And I didn’t like how Aro was portrayed in this scene. But more on that later.

The fight: I already wrote a detailed description of my experience of this scene in the “New Ending” thread, so check there if you want to read it.

Songbird wrote:When Carlisle was killed, I thought "no way!" but I was still thinking it could be ok because he could put himself back together. And then came the flames. I was seething.

Exactly my reaction!

Songbird wrote:It was like what she described if she had written in the mindset she was in after the Book that shall not be named was leaked..where she said if she had written it then, it would have been completely different...everybody would have died.

Haha, you’re right!

Songbird wrote:I also did not like how they made Bella's shield look like she could only shield one person at a time beyond herself....like she had to focus on one person and that was the only person she could protect.

Actually, remember when Jane wants to hurt Edward (I believe) before the fight breaks out? First she can, but then Bella expands her shield and Edward stands up. Jane then looks at each of Cullens with a panicked expression. I was under the impression that she was testing her power on the others but that Bella was shielding all of them. It’s just when the fight breaks out that Bella can’t focus so much that she can shield everyone without including the Volturi in her shield and without getting killed herself. That’s why she can only shield one person, I think. Although I liked how they visualized it, it was kind of hard to see sometimes. I was disappointed that they didn’t show Alec’s power interacting with the shield. I would have liked to see everyone in that protective bubble. But I loved the scene where she was practicing with Kate. Edward and Emmett’s interaction! Bwhaha!

Brienna wrote:Didn't like Aro. Too much over the top. He's supposed to be over the top, but it was just a bit to much for me. Keeping it a tone lower I think still would have had the right effect. Especially the creepy laugh bummed me out.

100% agreed. Michael Sheen is great, but this performance was just wrong for me. It didn’t fit with either the book or the Aro from New Moon. He’s supposed to have a bit more of a pokerface, you know. His struggles are all inside his head. And I get that it would have been difficult to have Edward constantly translating his thoughts in the movie, so they have to give him some more visible emotion. But this was just toooo much. I would have liked it more if it was a bit more subtle. The whole theater was laughing at him when he gave that “sound”. It took me completely out of the story. And to think that BC lists that as one of his favorite moments fom the movie…

Anyways, this was way too long… Even with all the little and big things I didn’t like or that just didn’t fit with canon, I LOVED IT! I thought it was brilliant! And just because of that awesome fight scene I can forgive the rest. In truth that scene kind of overshadows everything else in my mind, which I don’t particularly like… At least it’s an excuse to go again!

Marielle wrote:I mean do that really want us dead???

Uhm, I think yes. I think they’re fed up with us Twihearts. Remember Kristen’s comment about twisting the knife in further about the end of The Saga? Yeah, apparently she didn’t mean that figuratively…

P.S. corona, what are you doing here!? I thought the movie wasn't out yet in the US! it's better without spoilers! Go see it before you read here!

I'm going to promise that Saturday I'm going to catch up with all the regular posts around here... for now I'm living in my relax weekend (so far it hasn't been that relaxing but I'm hoping it will bring my blood pressure down a bit)...Tomorrow I'm going out with my aunts, mom and grandma to a woman fair...

tonight, I'm going to watch BD2 for the third time... I'm hoping I can handle everything better now...I was thinking I should reread the book this week... maybe that will be good for me...

Well, you all have fun watching BD2 and the marathon... I\ll see you tomorrow

These violent delights, have violent endings...Like fire and gunpowder, they consume what they kiss

skatepixie wrote:Raine – That sounds like quite the experience – and not in a good way. I’m so sorry that happened to you. Are you in the Philippines? My husband was born there and is a Filipino citizen.

Wow really?!?! Yes I am from the Philippines, Manila in particular. What city/town is he from? Have you ever visited Philippines?

Done with my 2nd viewing. The Twilight Coven Phils. block screening crowd did not disappoint. We had the best night. I spent the evening with my college buddies who 5 years ago sat in that same cinema and watched Twilight. We may have gone our separate ways with NM, Eclipse and BD1 screening but it's like fate that we all come together again for BD2.

And guess what, we made it to our local television. There's a tv crew filming our block screening. We're all camera shy though and tend to hide but I'm sure they still catch snippets of us. I'll try to find out what day it would be aired locally and maybe I could post the video here just so you could see how crazy we Filipinos are when it comes to the Twilight Fandom.

To all the US sisters who are about to sit down for the marathon, enjoy your viewings. I can't wait to hear what you think about the movie.

I'm off to bed now. It feels like Friday night already but bummer its only Thursday night I gotta wake up early tomorrow for 1 more day of work. See you all next time.

-Raine-

"Because each and every one of us needs our own personal brand of heroine."~Team Edward Forever~

Songbird wrote:Have any of you ever wondered why Kate's talent doesn't work on Bella?

Suzan wrote:I always thought it was because Bella shields her brain, meaning her central nervous system. Electrical currents are carried through the nerves. The electrical shocks from Kate are supposed to work like Jane’s in that sense: They sent signals to the brain. At least that’s how I read it. But I agree it’s confusing. Anyone remember the explanation from the book?

But isn't that what Jasper does, too? He calms or excited the nervous system...the nerves are physical...that's what makes us feel pain. If she could keep herself from feeling pain because her head is immune to stimulation of the nerves, she also wouldn't have felt physical pain with anything else. Even when she was human, her brain was protected...so she wouldn't have felt pain when James bit her, etc...at least, it's my understanding that the reason we feel pain is that something stimulates the nerves which sends a message to the brain that says "ow, that hurts", but you're the scientist...so you probably know how that works better than I do.

Songbird wrote:I liked that we got to see Vasilli and Sasha, but it bugged me a bit that Jane was there and also so prominent because according to the OIG, the immortal children ban was the reason why Aro didn't change Jane and Alex sooner...he couldn't break his own rule. So the immortal children came BEFORE Jane was created.

Suzan wrote:I always thought that Sasha made the immortal child after the law was already there. She what the consequences were. So Jane and Alec could have been there…

I never thought of that...I suppose that could be true. I guess we don't know WHEN it happened. I wonder if the dates are in the official illustrated guide...I'll have to look.

Songbird wrote:I also did not like how they made Bella's shield look like she could only shield one person at a time beyond herself....like she had to focus on one person and that was the only person she could protect.

Suzan wrote:Actually, remember when Jane wants to hurt Edward (I believe) before the fight breaks out? First she can, but then Bella expands her shield and Edward stands up. Jane then looks at each of Cullens with a panicked expression. I was under the impression that she was testing her power on the others but that Bella was shielding all of them. It’s just when the fight breaks out that Bella can’t focus so much that she can shield everyone without including the Volturi in her shield and without getting killed herself. That’s why she can only shield one person, I think. Although I liked how they visualized it, it was kind of hard to see sometimes. I was disappointed that they didn’t show Alec’s power interacting with the shield. I would have liked to see everyone in that protective bubble. But I loved the scene where she was practicing with Kate. Edward and Emmett’s interaction! Bwhaha!

I wish I could see it again now to look...I want to see that scene again now. But I totally agree about the lessons with kate...the interaction between Emmett and Edward is HILARIOUS. Kellan does an awesome Emmett.

Eeeeek, finally, in less than 24 hours I will be at BD 2! And quite frankly, it's about time!

It's getting harder to avoid spoilers, between twitter and Facebook, so I'm super glad we're going to an early showing tomorrow. It'll give me a great buzz as I go into work tomorrow night for the third promo weekend of the month, whoa!

I may pop in New Moon and Eclipse this afternoon since I'm not going to the marathon. There's just no way I could take 10 hours in a theater alone! I'm currently watching the Gilmore Girls episodes with Billy Burke, he looks so different with shaggy hair!

Song- I eat more cheese (I love those little individual cheese sticks) to get more protein, but I probably eat meat a few times a week..just depends on what it is and how it's prepared. I'm picky..Jason could eat meat every day of the week and be thrilled, Typical boy stuff.

Brenda-thanks for telling me how much the soundtrack is..Jason usually lets me have a 'treat' for facing something I hate doing..in this case, it's seeing his mother one on one for the first time..ever. I'm having lunch with her to keep the peace, haha.

Susie-yeah, that's right..Early Childhood So far I am loving my job at Hallmark so who knows if I'll actually use my degree, though we are thinking about homeschooling our future kiddos.

LOVE THAT WE'RE BACK TO LOTS OF POSTING ACTIVITY! I can just feel the energy!

Many of you are already at the cinema as I type this. I will be meeting my peeps for cocktails at the VIP Lounge in 4 1/2 hours.

My birthday is on Saturday and one of my students remembered and organized a little party for me. They bought a birthday cake with my name on it and gave me a card that they had all signed -plus a Target gift card for $30!!!! (I'm thinking Breaking Dawn merchandise...) They are so sweet! I was very touched.

I had a physical last week and the results came back from my blood work saying that my Vitamin D is low. I'm going to be taking a mega-dose of Vitamin D for one month. Maybe that will give me a burst of energy!

Mel - Yes I remember you!!! Welcome back! You evaporated from the facebook group, so I lost track of you. How have you been? How's your little boy and your career as a chef? Remember the story I wrote for you about meeting Rob in real life?

Raine - Kudos on getting on TV, even if your were in the periphery. I'm so glad you have an awesome time with your college friends last night.

Sarah - I agree - it has been a challenge to be online and stay spoiler free! I too didn't think I could handle a marathon. 3 in a row last Saturday was pushing it for me. Two is about right. What do you do at Hallmark that would prevent you from working in Early Childhood? In other words - what do you especially like about it?Rose - Well, you certainly have earned your place here at the Halfway House with that LA Premiere story! You sly fox! Withholding that information for a few days! You must have a good luck charm. I loved the ending to your story of finding a poster with Rob's signature - but why was it in the trash? What person in their right mind would put it in the trash? Unless it was so you could find it? Aww that person was soooo nice!Tracy - Agree about the Twilight soundtrack. Just listened to it yesterday. This is not the end. Didn't you know that you're not going to easily get rid of some of us??? Our friendships transcend the forum. Plus - the Lexicon will be around for a while longer. I'll be thinking of you tonight - we'll be seeing the movie at exactly the same time! Maybe I'll text you.....Sean - I hope you have someone advising you on what to do with that money - that's a healthy sum!Lynne - Perhaps you're not the type to do a fangirl scream online anyway. I'll get to your review after I've seen it.

Jaclyn - I just watched Twilight again last weekend and I have a special fondness for that one. (except the makeup and Rob's changing eyebrows) Enjoy and we'll see you back here to discuss!Marielle - It's one big party weekend, isn't it? Have fun!Ann Marie - It's OK to cry! I'm sure there will be others who will cry too. You've got your Biscuit to comfort you when you get home.

Paula - I'm so glad you worked things out with your husband. Your relationship will be much stronger now. You must be very busy with 3 small children! Did you see Marielle at the movie?Songbird - Your daughter is obviously a bright girl (takes after her mommy, perhaps?) and I think that fact that another teacher was testing her is GOOD news. Regarding your son - he is still very young (for a boy!) so the holding a pencil thing can just be a maturity thing. It's so hard not to worry about anything to do with our kids.Tonise - I really miss seeing you here at the Halfway House, but I know why you've had to stay away - you're studying hard! I really hope you start feeling better soon and that you can lick this chronic ailment.